Atmosphere

May 21, 2009 – On the home stretch of their “When God Gives You Ugly Tour,” it was clear that Atmosphere were in top form. If the band was road weary, it surely didn't show as they rocked a tight performance for their first St. Louis date in nearly three years.

Photographer's Notes:

Atmosphere putt on a great show, even if Slug accidently kicks your flash off the stage and breaks it. I honestly think it was more of a love tap – the flash was sitting right at the edge of the stage as it was. Slug apologized both right after the incident and after the show. But I digress, more on the flash later.

Tons of energy in this set. My biggest regret? Focusing almost exclusively on rapper Slug, AKA Sean Daley, which I made as an executive decision given the greater investment of energy I find rappers require for performance shoots.

I used a mix of flash and ambient light for this show and photographed for the first three songs. Three Nikon SB-600s were on the stage, but for the most part I just used one or two of them while shooting.

Three quick songs and we were out of the pit.
End Notes:

In case you were wondering: The SB-600 that was the evening's casualty seems to have made a full recovery.

It looks like the flash landed in such a way that the electrical contacts for two of the AA batteries became smashed down on impact. As a result, the prongs weren't making the necessary contact to the batteries.

I bent the prongs back into place and voilà, the flash turns on again and fires. More testing is necessary, but it seems to be OK.

In other news, I'm looking forward to catching Atmosphere in Chicago at Lollapalooza!

My Camera DSLR and Lenses for Concert Photography

Nikon D850: I use two Nikon D850 for my live music photography. A true do-it-all DSLR with amazing AF, fast response, and no shortage of resolution.

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For over a decade, ishootshows.com has been the best source for music photography and learning how to shoot concerts. Founded in 2007 by NYC music photographer Todd Owyoung, features over 1,100 articles ranging from lenses and DSLRs to use for music photography, to concert coverage, and advanced technique for anyone wanting to learn how to get into music photography.

Assignments

From working with brands to deliver compelling music lifestyle photography, photographing artists, to working with directly with management and event producers, Todd Owyoung is available for assignments worldwide.